NextLimit may have a competitor to their popular RealFlow CFD package coming up soon in the form of a new tool called Slipstream FX from canadian company Exocortex. They use an automatic adaptive tetrahedral mesh and claim that their simulation algorithms, while currently only marketed to the movie industry, are suitable for use in real-world engineering problems (after some rigorous validation testing, of course).
Normal CFD meshes must be aligned with fluid boundaries and flow fields to produce accurate results. This technique requires much fussing by the analyst to get the mesh right. When the flow-field changes, as it does unsteady flows, analysts must revise or recreate the CFD mesh.
Exocortex’s approach enables the tetrahedral mesh to be quickly and automatically refined and redefined in regions where the flow velocity changes rapidly. Consequently, the software is able to model complex phenomena such as breaking waves and water sloshing in a tank.
The rapid refinement is made possible by dividing the mesh-generation and CFD solution among multiple processors.
via VEKTORRUM » Exocortex Debuts Adaptive Multi-Core Fluid Analysis.
